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Sin Tax Bill

SummarySumptuary taxes are ostensibly used for reducing transactions involving something that society considers undesirable, and is thus a kind of sumptuary law. Sin tax is used for taxes on activities that are considered socially undesirable. Common targets of sumptuary taxes are alcohol and tobacco, gambling, and vehicles emitting excessive pollutants. Sumptuary tax on sugar and soft drinks has also been suggested.[1] Some jurisdictions have also levied taxes on illegal drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.[citation needed] The revenue generated by sin taxes is sometimes used for special projects, but might also be used in the ordinary budget. American cities and countries have used them to pay for stadiums, while in Sweden the tax for gambling is used for helping people with gambling problems. Acceptance of sumptuary taxes may be greater than income tax or sales tax. Opposition to sin tax

•Sin taxes have historically triggered rampant smuggling and black markets, especially when they create large price differences in neighboring jurisdictions.[citation needed] •Critics of sin tax argue[who?] that it is a regressive tax in nature and discriminates against the lower classes, since taxation of a product such as alcohol or cigarettes does not account for ability to pay, therefore poor people pay a greater amount of their income as tax.[citation needed] •Sin taxes are not normally value added in nature meaning that expensive, high-quality products more likely to be purchased by the wealthy will have the tax comprise a much smaller proportion of its final purchase price, thus ensuring that the lower classes pay a much greater proportion of their lower income in tax.[citation needed] •Sin taxes fail to affect consumers' behaviors in the way that tax proponents suggest, for instance increasing smokers' propensity to smoke high-tar, high-nicotine cigarettes when the per-pack price is raised[2] and increasing the rate of people mixing their own drinks rather than...

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...SinTaxBill (For the Government)
OVERALL SUMMARY:
According to James Sadowsky, author of The Economics of Sin Taxes, taxes imposed on products seen as vices such as alcoholic liquors and tobaccos are called sintax. Aside from the commodities being objects of disapproval, even their consumers accept such taxes because they seem to hit two birds in one stone. First, they raise revenues and second, they made vices expensive.
House Bill 5727 or also known as the SinTaxBill aims to reform the imposed tax on the sin products (Official Gazette, 2002). We support this bill for three reasons. First, the government can collect more revenues. Second, it promotes health by dissuading the consumption of the vices. And lastly, the poor sector benefits from it.
Sintax is a form of an excise tax. It is a tax levied on some commodities but not all commodities unlike sales tax. This is how the government generates more revenues (Sadowsky). However, the opposition claims that this bill will backfire on its goals. Since the price of the price of the commodities will rise, the demand will decrease. Thus, there will be no revenues to generate which contrast one of the goals of the bill since industries such...

...I. What is SinTaxBill ?
A sintax is a kind of sumptuary tax: a tax specifically levied on certain generally socially proscribed goods and services, for example alcohol, tobacco and gambling.
Sumptuary taxes are ostensibly used for reducing transactions involving something that society considers undesirable, and is thus a kind of sumptuary law. Sintax is used for taxes on activities that are considered socially undesirable. Common targets of sumptuary taxes are alcohol and tobacco, gambling, and vehicles emitting excessive pollutants. Sumptuary tax on sugar and soft drinks has also been suggested. Some jurisdictions have also levied taxes on illegal drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
The revenue generated by sin taxes is sometimes used for special projects, but might also be used in the ordinary budget. American cities and countries have used them to pay for stadiums, while in Sweden the tax for gambling is used for helping people with gambling problems. Acceptance of sumptuary taxes may be greater than income tax or sales tax.
House Bill 5727, or the SinTaxBill, aims to restructure the existing taxes imposed on alcohol and tobacco goods. Duties on these products are a potential revenue source that...

...The SinTaxBill
(Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago)
The Philippines has scandalously low taxes on two commodities that have been proven killers of individuals, destroyers of families and threats to national economic security: cigarette and spirits. At present, 25 million Filipino youth who are 18 years old are smokers. If they continue to smoke, half of them will die. Santiago is the principal author of Senate Bill No. 3249, “An Act restructuring the excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products.”The senator compared her bill with that recommended by the committee report, known as S.B.No. 3299, and sponsored by Sen. Ralph Recto, chair of the ways and means committee. “Under the Santiago bill, government will raise P60 billion for the first year. By contrast, the Recto bill will earn only P15 billion. The foregone revenue could go to universal health care, such as more hospitals, rural health units, and barangay health stations. The bill imposes a unitary tax system, as recommended by the World Health Organization. The Recto bill uses a 3-tier tax rate for tobacco and alcohol products, making them cheaper and thereby encouraging their use. Unitary tax system which she used in her bill is more simplified and therefore easier to administer. She contrasted it with the multi-tier system,...

...SINTAXBILL
MANILA, Philippines—A “sintax” on cigarettes and alcohol dampened the New Year party spirit when it was introduced in the Philippines Tuesday, as part of a government bid to boost finances.
Many stores started selling tobacco and drink at inflated prices before midnight, ahead of the official implementation of the tax hikes on January 1, hitting partygoers in the pocket.
Tax on cigarettes will gradually be raised to P30 ($0.72) per pack by 2017, roughly doubling the current price to around 52 pesos.
Duty on alcohol will also increase gradually until 2017, increasing the price of a bottle of beer by 23.50 pesos, with varying levels for other drinks including wine and spirits. It will be further increased by four percent each year thereafter.
“The new prices compared to countries like Singapore, for example, are still low, but for the ordinary Filipinos they are expensive,” said Laudemer Angeles, a 33-year-old shop owner in the town of Bacoor, south of Manila.
“Many of my customers were complaining about the higher prices and were not too happy when they bought their booze and smokes for their parties last night.”
Anti-smoking campaigner Emer Rojas said he hoped the new taxes would lead to a gradual decline in the number of people suffering from tobacco-related illness.
“I think the sin taxes should even be raised higher,” he told AFP. “But...

...President Benigno Aquino 3rd on Thursday signed the sintaxbill into law. The new law is expected to raise an additional P33.96 billion during the first year of implementation.
In his speech, the President said that the new law was an early Christmas gift for the Filipinos as its revenues will be used to expand the government’s healthcare program and will be spent for tobacco farmers’ livelihood.
“Sa araw pong ito, nilagdaan natin, sa wakas—ulitin ko lang po, sa wakas—ang isang batas na magsisilbing maagang Pamasko sa milyun-milyong Pilipino—mga Pilipinong masasaklaw sa abot-kamay nang Universal Health Care program; mga Pilipinong makikinabang sa mga bagong klinika at ospital na mapopondohan at maipapatayo; mga Pilipinong maililihis sa bisyo ng paninigarilyo at labis na pag-inom
[Today we sign, finally, a law that will serve as early Christmas gift to millions of Filipinos who will be covered by the Universal Health Care program, who will benefit from the new public clinics and hospitals that will be built and who will be weaned out from smoking and drinking],” he said.
The President added that Republic Act 10351, which raises taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, is the only tax reform on alcohol and tobacco products that favors both the government and the Filipino people.
“Hangad nating gawing abot-kamay para sa lahat ang benepisyong pangkalusugan, mayaman man o mahirap, sagrado po kasi ang buhay ng...

...gambling, and so on. This type of charge, often called a "sintax," appeals to voters who view it as a way of discouraging consumption of certain objectionable products.
It reduces the income of the buyer.Lowers profits for the seller, and leads to reduced investment, wages, and jobs.It is not likely to seriously discourage consumption habits when those habits are intensely desired.It may eventually decrease government revenue, especially as people move their business to the informal sector.It encourages people to turn to harder substances to feed their habits at the same price.It creates underground markets, which tend toward corruption and violence, and fosters disrespect for the law.It sets up a moral hazard for policy makers, who vacillate between wanting to discourage undesirable behavior and wanting to encourage it for revenue purposes.
A sintax is a kind of sumptuary tax: a tax specifically levied on certain generally socially proscribed goods and services, for example alcohol andtobacco, candies, soft drinks, fast foods, coffee, and gambling. Sumptuary taxes are ostensibly used for reducing transactions involving something that society considers undesirable, and is thus a kind ofsumptuary law. Sintax is used for taxes on activities that are considered socially undesirable. Common targets of sumptuary taxes are alcohol and tobacco, gambling,...

...18 March 2013
SinTaxBill: Dashing Expectations
How good does the decrease of the number of smokers in the Philippines sound? Moreover, wouldn’t an increase in the government’s health care revenue be pleasing to hear? The SinTaxBill, now signed into law, aims to promote health by discouraging vice whilst raising additional revenues for the government’s Universal Health Care Program. It aims to do so by increasing taxes in so-called sin products such as alcohol and cigarettes. The largest percent of the revenue raised shall go to the universal health care while the remaining 15% shall be financial aid for displaced tobacco farmers.
As the majority may already know, smoking and drinking are responsible for numerous deaths annually. Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, asthma, premature death, and many more. An ingredient present in cigarettes called nicotine makes it very addictive. Although alcohol is not as addicting as smoking, in the long run, however, alcohol causes liver disease, high blood pressure, digestive system disorders. Moreover, a person who is intoxicated may cause road accidents, fire injuries, and may even commit suicide. With that being said, the SinTaxBill would sound like an effective way to lessen the consumption of sin products such as cigarettes and alcohol. However, it will...

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REACTION PAPER ON SINTAXBILL
The SinTaxbill (House Bill 5727 and Senate Bill 3249) is a bill which aims to restructure the existing taxes imposed on alcohol and tobacco goods. On December 20, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III signed the Republic Act 10351 or the sintax reform 2012.
The SinTaxBill is a sensationalized issue in the Philippines and it gets several mixed reactions from different stakeholders in the country or Filipinos at large. Filipinos are expected to reduce their vices like alcoholism and smoking as a target result of this Bill.
Aquino said the new law aims to favor both the government and the Filipino people since revenues to be generated from the measure will be used to fund health insurance programs for the poor, and build and renovate hospitals in the country.
Most families of Filipinos especially those who are not residing in urban areas are farmers. The source of their livelihood is farming tobacco products and harvesting fermented liquors, in our dialect “tuba”. They are now the immediate concern that the government should consider upon the approval of this Bill. Higher taxes on tobacco products mean lesser income for these farmers....